the.com/bridal shower

means A pre-wedding party where friends and family shower the bride-to-be with gifts, usually paired with games, snacks, and daytime drinking.

from The 'shower' part is the literal image: guests once hid small gifts inside a parasol and opened it over the bride-to-be, 'showering' her with presents — a folk story that actually lines up with how the term got used starting in the 1800s, when gift-giving parties for brides became fashionable. One popular tale claims the custom began when a stingy Dutch father refused to pay his daughter's dowry, so her friends 'showered' her with household goods instead — a charming story, but it's unverified folklore rather than documented history. What's solid is that 'shower' as a verb for giving abundant gifts was established English usage well before the party name caught on.